Queensland mine trials dual fuel truck

New Acland mine in Queensland, Australia, has successfully trailed a new dual fuel truck in partnership with Mine Energy Solutions (MES) and Hastings Deering.

The truck’s technology enables the conversion of high horse powered diesel engines from 100% diesel to dual fuel operation, using natural gas as the dominant fuel through sequential gas injection.

David Vink, General Manager of New Acland, said: “We provided the trial site and wherewithal, MES the technology and Hastings Deering the hardware - so to speak (truck and engines). When MES first looked for project partners in Queensland there was no one interested. But we could see the potential for this technology from the outset.”

“Now, after nearly 24 months operating on site, clocking more than 6200 hours, we’ve piqued the interest of the big boys and the sceptics. We’ve taken the technology from an R&D project to ready for commercial application. Actually beyond that - it has already been taken up commercially which has signalled the end of the trial,” Vink added.

The trial was originally planned to run for just six months in 2016 but lasted for two years; off the back of data collected as the trial progressed, the technology itself evolved even further.

“The trial is complete, MES’s technology has been proven and we are pleased to be part of this exciting project that is now going global,” Vink concluded.